"So what was it, exactly?" On the bay, beside the wooden cabin, Jack Young and Jill Young each sat in a rocking chair, creaking back and forth in sync. Jack handed the Queen a cup of tea and asked curiously, "There aren't many enemies that can sneak up on you without warning. Was it some kind of magical creature, like a water elemental or something?"
"No, it was a weird kind of physical creature, but its structure was totally different from anything we usually see. It was like a super-mutated jellyfish—no head, no tail, just one enormous, transparent membrane. That membrane was its whole body, just drifting lazily through the ocean most of the time, but it's seriously dangerous." Jill Young rubbed her forehead, clearly frustrated. "My internal pressure was way too high at the time, so my senses were way off. I didn't notice it coming at all. As soon as it sensed me, it snapped itself shut, like a fishing net closing in. Next thing I knew, I was swept straight down to the bottom of the sea."
"And then?"
"Then..."
Then it was just falling, falling, endlessly falling.
Even though this bizarre creature looked like a thin membrane, it was perfectly adapted to life on the ocean floor—and it really knew how to use the currents to its advantage. Jill Young had no idea how big it actually was; all she knew was that everywhere around her, water was churning and swirling in chaos. It was like a sudden sea tornado, sucking her down the cliff and into the deeper ocean with an irresistible force.
In a flash, she'd already dropped past 2,400 meters—and she was still falling fast.
This membrane-like creature was built for the deep sea, but Jill Young, being a land dweller, couldn't just keep sinking forever. So with every second, every meter down, things got more and more dangerous for her.
A strange digestive fluid mixed in with the currents and came swirling toward her—the creature's whole body was packed with digestive organs, and the stuff it secreted could melt rocks over time. You could hear it hissing, flashing with a dark golden sheen, but for now, Eggshell was holding up against the acid.
But with the water pressure spiking all around her, Jill Young could feel her heart pounding out of her chest. Her head was spinning, her vision was blurry, her ears were ringing like electronic static, and little dark spots started flickering in her eyes. It was like a regular person trying to sprint three thousand meters without stopping—that total, all-over, out-of-gas feeling.
She knew she really had hit her limit.
Which meant she had to race against time and get out of there, fast!
Haaa—!
Creak—her muscles tightened like steel cables. With a silent roar, Jill Young swung the Nightbane Blade, slashing out a furious strike. Boom—the deep ocean layers split open with a clear sword trail, and a blast of sword energy shot downward.
Splat—the sword energy hit something, making a sound like tearing plastic. But for a creature built like this, that kind of slash was basically nothing.
Jill Young spun the blade, unleashing explosive power, slashing in every direction at once. Countless thin sword energies burst out like a rainstorm, shooting all around. Splat, splat, splat—the sound of sword energy punching through flesh was like rain hitting banana leaves, and the currents slowed for a moment. Clearly, the weird creature had finally taken some damage.
Bang—no time to waste! Jill Young summoned all her strength and kicked hard, blasting a ring of water in the sea. She raised her sword and charged upward, spinning her body, the three-foot sword light drilling through like an unstoppable spear. The creature tried to block her, but it just couldn't keep her down.
But just then, the Nightbane Blade let out a sneaky, sinister hum, and Jill Young instantly felt her Supreme Skill jam up. Her divine weapon in her hand suddenly went dead, like a useless stick, and most of the sword light vanished—seriously? The Nightbane Blade picked this moment to betray me!
Jill Young was so mad she wanted to snap the Nightbane Blade in half right then and there—but the next moment, an invisible membrane wrapped around, binding her arms tight.
Trying to tie me up? Jill Young grabbed the membrane with dragon-like fingers and tore at it with all her strength—open up for me!
With a ripping sound, the membrane wrapped around her was torn apart. But Jill Young's face changed—she realized this stuff was tough and slippery as heck. Even for her, it took serious effort to tear through. And if the membrane could heal itself...
The thought had barely crossed her mind when, sure enough, the torn membrane automatically reconnected, healing up at a speed you could actually see.
—Ugh, speak of the devil! Of course it can heal itself, damn it! Good thing, good thing, it's still beatable... but if this membrane creature gets any bigger...
She barely finished the thought before, in the chaotic darkness of the sea, an uncountable mass of membranes swarmed in like a pack of piranhas. Just eyeballing it, the area covered was at least the size of a soccer field.
—Of course, the bad stuff always comes true, and wow, it's ridiculously huge! Good thing, good thing, it's still manageable at this depth... but if it gets any deeper...
She barely finished the thought when—whoosh! It was like a toilet on turbo flush, the transparent enemy whipped up a massive current, dragging Jill Young deeper into the ocean. Land creatures fighting at sea were already at a huge disadvantage, and now with this sea monster, things were just getting ridiculous.
Jill Young kept tearing through the enemy, but more and more membranes kept wrapping her up. She blasted out Supreme Skill, aiming straight at the sea monster's core—and sure enough, her attack worked wonders. Wherever her power hit, the membranes turned black, shriveled, and hardened. The places touched by Supreme Skill were like leaves scorched by fire, totally losing their vitality and not healing for ages.
But compared to its massive size, that little bit of damage was nothing.
This membrane creature was playing to its strengths—no brute force, just dragging Jill Young deeper and deeper, a hundred meters at a time. In the blink of an eye, she was past 2,800 meters, then 2,900, and finally slammed headfirst into the 3,000-meter mark...
This chapter isn't over yet~.~ Click next page for more awesome action!
—Meanwhile, back at the bay—
Teacher Yang stopped rocking his chair and said seriously, "No wonder I felt something was off a while ago—so that's what was going on. Thinking back, it really was a close call. Water is soft but overcomes hardness, and with that unique environment, it was the perfect counter to you."
"Tell me about it! If we'd been on land—or even in shallow water—I could've shredded it like cold noodles!" Jill Young slapped her thigh in frustration, then shook her head and sighed. "But in that kind of deep sea, under that kind of pressure, it was seriously tough. Honestly, by the time I hit three thousand meters, the water pressure alone was about to knock me out. My organs felt like they were gonna explode, my eyes were so bloodshot I couldn't see a thing, and my brain was so swollen I couldn't think. I was way past my limit."
Teacher Yang asked with concern, "And then?"
"Then... heh, you know me—I went nuts." Most people do crazy things when they're backed into a corner, and Jill Young was no exception. She pinched her chin, trying to remember. "Honestly, I don't remember much about what happened. I just know I grabbed a whole bunch of Secondary Meat Pills from my storage space..."
—Back then, three thousand meters deep—
In that desperate situation, Jill Young's hands flashed gold as she whipped out a huge handful of Secondary Meat Pills. The transparent enemy, sensing the deliciousness of the pills, immediately forgot about dragging her deeper and started churning and secreting digestive fluid, trying to absorb the precious medicine.
But Jill Young was quicker. She gripped and crushed the pills in her hands—crack, crack, crack—turning them all into powder in an instant. Her mind was a fog, but her body instinctively stretched out, letting the endless powder float around her like she was standing in a blizzard.
Boom, boom, boom—like raging waves, two dragon shadows burst from deep inside her body, swirling around her nonstop, their mouths opening and closing as if swallowing and spitting.
Boom, boom, boom—strong suction radiated out, and the fragments of Secondary Meat Pills clung to Jill Young's body like baby swallows returning to the nest, forming a strange coating. Then, in the spreading golden ripples, they were absorbed straight into her body.
Boom, boom, boom—an unimaginable flood of life energy, way past the limit, surged into Jill Young's flesh and body, racing through her veins and muscles.
Jill Young snapped her eyes open, bloodshot and blazing red. All her wildness, rage, and determination gathered into a wave of thought so strong it radiated out, making the membrane sea monster hesitate with fear. Its instincts were screaming that something bad was about to happen.
The next moment, all that life energy was unleashed, charging straight at the leftover pills—
Bang! It was like a deep-sea bomb suddenly went off, a real shockwave expanding out in a sphere, shaking everything in every direction. Rip, rip—the membrane monster was torn open with huge wounds, almost shredded completely. It didn't even have vocal cords, but somehow it let out a weird, sharp screech.
It writhed and spasmed in pain, rolling through the water, and it took a while to recover. The wounds slowly healed, but way slower than before, so it was clearly badly hurt. But when it finally came to, it realized Jill Young hadn't tried to escape. She just floated there in the water, limp and drifting, not moving at all.
Dead?
The sea monster was confused—it couldn't figure out what crazy thing Jill Young had just done. All it knew was that its tough prey had finally gone quiet. Dead prey was the best kind, so it curled up and started to enjoy what seemed like a super tasty meal.
So it wrapped her up, layer after layer, like a spider cocooning its catch in silk. Tons of digestive fluid poured out, the acid spiking, the dark gold glow flickering weakly, like a candle about to go out.
The digestion went on for a whole day and night—the membrane monster was nothing if not patient.
After a day and night, the dark gold glow vanished and the Eggshell, with no one controlling it, finally broke. The membrane monster seemed to celebrate, thinking it was about to conquer this tough nut. But in the absolute darkness and silence, suddenly, a loud boom rang out—BOOM!
It was a heartbeat—deep and mighty, like the Yellow Emperor pounding the drum of the Kui Ox, shaking your liver and rattling your soul. The membrane monster hesitated for a moment, not knowing what was happening. Was its prey still alive?
BOOM! Another heartbeat, even stronger and wilder, bursting with unstoppable vitality and explosive force. Suddenly, a light appeared—the blazing sun tattoo on Jill Young's forehead lit up, golden flames racing across her body. Whoosh! The Sacred Spirit Fire wrapped around her, burning fiercely, like true fire forging divine metal—flames refining her golden body.
BOOM BOOM, BOOM BOOM! Her heartbeat thundered on, and at the peak of her Golden Demon transformation, a second point of phantom light appeared—at her heart, at her chest! There, a dazzling core began to form. With each beat, with each pulse of hot blood, a phantom network of light stretched out along her veins and muscles, endlessly expanding.
This newly formed Power Network worked perfectly with the phantom Sacred Fire markings, like two parallel highways doing their own jobs. As soon as it appeared, the dark gold glow on her skin surged stronger than ever, putting huge pressure on the membrane monster. The power of blood and spirit fire twisted and fused, turning into a burning golden mist. The mist didn't do any real damage, but the membrane monster suddenly felt disaster looming.
It shrieked and tried to run for its life.
But then—smack! The motionless Jill Young suddenly raised her hand and grabbed it. The unconscious woman slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes. There were no pupils, no whites—just blazing gold, like a berserk demon god.
If it could, the membrane monster would be drenched in cold sweat.